An embodiment of the method as is set forth in the foregoing is known from WO81/02809. According to the known method a porous flexible package is placed in plasma and an object contained in the porous package is sterilized through the package. The sterilization process is initiated by ions and radicals which have entered the inner space of the enclosure by diffusion from the outside of the enclosure. The porous package is therefore manufactured from a permeable material for neutralizing plasma ions while allowing suitable reactive components to diffuse inside the package for sterilizing the object.
It is a disadvantage of the known method that efficiency of the sterilization process may be substantially reduced by the porous material of the package intercepting the ion flux. It is a further disadvantage of the known method that energy may be spilled as plasma is generated in a remote area (i.e. outside the enclosure) whereas only a small part of plasma particles is used for sterilization.
Another embodiment of the method as is set forth in the opening paragraph is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,770. In the known method an object conceived to be sterilized in being provided in a rigid enclosure, which is positioned between two electrode plates for generating plasma inside the enclosure, the enclosure functioning as a dielectric medium for inducing a barrier discharge.
It is a disadvantage of the method known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,770 that the enclosure is to be positioned in a contact with the electrode plates, which may cause damages on the enclosure surface thereby possibly corrupting the sterilization process.